A Super-Soldier for the Modern World
by thomthom830
Summary: Cap is back with Amanda Carter. Is Steve Rogers ever going to be able to have a normal life? Read and find out! Sequel to Into the New World. R&R! Remember: Amanda is Sharon Carter now.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my sequel to Into the New World! If you haven't read it, you probably ought to. You probably can understand this, but it'll definitely be easier by reading the previous story. I changed Sharon Carter's name to Amanda, but that's something I cover in the other story. Anyway, go forth and read and tell me what's up. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cap or anything you recognize in this story. I wish I could make a living writing, but not yet.

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

**.Prologue.**

"_Captain America, wherever you are, thank you," _the young blond woman said right into the camera.

Doctor and Agent Amanda Carter stared at the TV screen and rolled her eyes. Recognizing the look in the blond woman's eyes, she sighed. Lots of women were going to want Captain America. She was just going to have to get used to it.

She was also going to have to come to terms with the fact that she'd missed the whole thing; every single battle with Loki and the Chitauri. She'd missed the Hulk busting up the helicarrier and she'd missed Hawkeye being possessed. Apparently, she'd even missed a trip to the best schwarma in the city. All of these things she'd been told via text from Natasha. The red head was heading on a vacation with the now-unpossessed Hawkeye.

But that was the price you paid when you went out on assignment. You missed things. Amanda had been sent deep undercover. Truthfully, any longer and she was apt to forget that she was _only_ on assignment; she was beginning to lose herself in the woman she was pretending to be.

The Avengers were on every news site and every TV channel. Amanda didn't like the feeling of being left out, but what she had just finished doing had to be done. And in reality, she was pleased that Director Fury had chosen her to do this and not someone else.

Looking out the window of the private jet, Amanda smiled. It was only going to be a little bit longer before she touched back down in New York. And only a little longer after that before she was face to face with her Captain.

It had been hard to leave Steve; harder than she ever thought it would be. She couldn't bring herself to tell him where she was going or what she was doing. Fury had given her express permission to tell Steve what she was doing, but she declined. She didn't want him to know; she knew what she would be doing was going to be dangerous.

But she knew she was going to miss him like crazy and she was right. They'd only been dating for a couple of months when she left; she didn't know how long she was going to be gone. That was the worst part. But both of them knew it was the nature of their jobs that this could happen. Whether they wanted to or not, they had to accept it.

Fortunately, Amanda was extremely efficient at what she did. It had only been a couple of weeks, and Amanda was on her way home.

Surveying the skyline of New York as her plane started getting closer and closer; she noticed the impressive outline of Stark Tower. Tony had opted months ago to not rebuild the house that he'd held so dear. By the time the fires had been put out and the damage assessed, most of the south portion of the house was gone and what was left was unsalvageable. Tony had decided to tear it down in favor of the now in-repair Stark Tower.

From her vantage point, it didn't appear that the attacks from Loki and the Chitauri had done nearly the amount of damage to the tower that Sin and her crew had done to the house, but it definitely needed work. The only remaining letter left of his name on the side of the building was an 'A'.

It must have been a bit of a feat to get the group back together; they had all gone their separate ways. Doctor Banner was somewhere on SHIELD's remote radar, but ultimately left alone. He'd expressed interest in finding a patch of uninhabited planet where he wouldn't hurt anyone. Thor had returned to Asgard, somehow, and was all but entirely unreachable. Amanda wasn't quite sure how it worked. Tony had thrown himself fully into the green energy project with Pepper. That's how the new Stark Tower had come about.

Natasha had been sent undercover, too, but she'd gone somewhere else. It probably was just as much…_fun_…as Amanda's trip was. Hawkeye, on the other hand, was given the task of making sure the newly re-acquired tesseract was safe while Doctor Erik Selvig finally got his chance to work on it.

Bucky Barnes was accepted into SHIELD, but he'd been moved to the California branch. That left Steve and Amanda plenty of time to get to know each other. Which made it that much harder for her to leave; Steve would be alone.

Amanda checked her phone again. It was so nice to turn her _actual_ phone back on and start getting messages again.

She had 20 messages from her mother and sister once she'd turned it back on. They were very_, very_ angry with her lies; it took lots of drawn out, dramatic conversations and half-hearted and real apologies to make it to where they were now. She'd listened to each of the messages; gradually they became nicer and nicer and the last message said Aunt Peggy was starting to breathe on her own.

Now she could enjoy the evening with Captain Rogers, and feel slightly less guilty about not going to see her still-comatose aunt first.

"What are you so deep in thought about, Agent Carter?" the pilot asked. He was a fellow SHIELD agent; someone who'd survived the fight that had occurred between them and the alien invaders. She'd known him for years.

"Just thinking about what I missed," Amanda said.

"How long were you gone?" he asked. The pilot didn't know what she'd been doing; he'd just been given orders to bring her home.

"Just a few weeks," Amanda replied. "But it feels like a lifetime."

"Well, welcome home," the man smiled. He brought the plane down on the runway smoothly.

Amanda closed her eyes and re-opened them. She really was home.

Opening the plane's door, she grabbed her one single bag and quickly took the steps. She peered around the tarmac of the private airbase; she smiled when she found what, or rather who, she was looking for.

"It's about time," he said, squinting slightly into the sun behind her face.

Amanda smiled back at him. "I missed you so much."

He put his arms around her, without hesitation, and kissed her deeply. He'd gotten over his bashfulness in the couple of months they'd had together.

"Oh, Captain," she smiled once they had broken apart for air.

"Let's go home," he said, looking down at her, his blue eyes dark with want.

"Hold your horses, there, Steve," Amanda said. "I was hoping to get a shower first. It's been a while since I've had proper hot water."

Steve nodded. "Of course," he said. "Right, right."

They took the short walk, hand in hand, to Steve's motorcycle.

"I hope the motorcycle is okay," he said, handing her a helmet.

"Of course it is," she replied, accepting the helmet from him and sliding it on her head.

"All right, let's get you home."

XXXXX

Steve Rogers missed her the whole time she was gone. It wasn't a feeling he particularly enjoyed, either. It was incredible to see her plane land. And now she was holding onto him tightly as he drove them around the wreckage that was New York.

SHIELD had gone through and done a lot of clean up, specifically, alien removal, but the ravages that had occurred were still all around them.

Steve brought the two of them to his apartment. Most of her things had wound up there anyway. But honestly, he was being selfish; he wanted her all to himself.

His apartment could be described as 'retro' by all accounts. But it was all things he was used to the first time around, with a few extra modern pieces of equipment interspersed. He liked it, having his own space, but Steve was definitely happy to have a companion.

Steve carried her things, her one single bag, that she'd survived with for the 32 and a half days she'd been gone. He was curious as to what she was sent to do and where she'd lived, but he wasn't about to pry. She was back where he could protect her and that's all Steve cared about.

After opening the door, Amanda immediately began peeling off the clothes she'd been wearing for the last 16 hours. She knew she looked, and smelled, like hell, yet Steve couldn't stop staring at her. And she didn't realize it, but she was torturing him as she removed articles of clothing. He's wanted to touch her for so long.

"Seriously, Steve, I feel gross," she said. It was then that she was really seeing the look on his face. "I'm going to hop in the shower and then you can tell me about the blond waitress you rescued," Amanda smirked.

He blushed bright red.

"Uh…" he stammered.

"Yeah, she's all over the news thanking you," Amanda laughed.

"I helped a lot of people that day," Steve said, clearly not understanding that she was kidding.

"I heard," she said, removing the rest of her clothes before walking into the bathroom.

Steve had followed her room to room and was now taking in her naked body as she turned the water on.

She was bruised all over and there were several new cuts that were becoming scars on her collarbone, upper arm and what looked like a brand on the middle of her back.

"Have you been to a doctor?" he asked, stepping towards her, his hands touching the circular mark on her back gingerly.

Amanda tried to hide the wince of pain she felt as he touched her there, but she failed miserably. Her entire body tensed.

"I _am_ a doctor," she said.

"Except you can't reach this. What happened?" Steve asked.

"I'm fine; it's not a big deal," Amanda replied.

Amanda, self-consciously now, bent to test the water temperature. Finding it satisfactorily warm, she pulled the tab to turn the showerhead on.

She smiled at him reassuringly and climbed behind the shower curtain. The warm water was a welcome change despite the resulting stinging on her injuries. Amanda had all but forgotten them as she flew home. She was so happy to be alive to return to New York that a couple scars didn't mean anything to her.

Amanda realized how tired she was as the heat started to permeate her muscles and she swore she could feel it in her bones.

"Amanda?" Steve's voice called from the other side of the shower curtain.

It broke her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" she said warily.

Steve pulled back the curtain just enough for him to climb in with her. He bore scares of his own, some as fresh as Amanda's.

"We're a real pair," Amanda said, tracing her hand along the scar on his side. Now he had matching marks on the sides of his abdomen.

"Did they do anything else?" he asked. He was still shy; he didn't want to utter the words. But he wanted to know.

"No," she replied. It was the truth.

"What happened?" Steve asked as he helped her massage the shampoo into her hair and scalp.

"You know…stuff," Amanda replied. Steve was a soldier; he had to understand what she meant. "It doesn't matter anymore. I completed the mission."

"That's good," he said.

"If I didn't finish it, were you going to finish it for me?" Amanda laughed.

"I'm going to find out if whoever did this to you is still alive and kill them myself," Steve said from behind her.

Amanda turned to face him.

"Very unnecessary, but not un-appreciated."

He looked at her with a confused expression.

"Already dead," Amanda said before moving to wash the soap from her dark hair.

"Next time I'm going with you," he said firmly.

"That is incredibly noble and wonderful, but you aren't exactly an individual who can blend in, sir," she said. "You are kind of recognizable," she laughed.

"You know Natasha came back all beat up, too," he said, touching the area around the circular burn on her back. "They pulled her out to help us. Well, they pulled her out because of Barton."

Amanda turned. "Are you okay?" she asked after turning around to look him in the eyes.

"Yeah," he smiled. "I'm okay. I was just hoping that you'd be back then, too," he said.

"I got a text from Nat about the whole thing. I hear I missed a bad ass trip for schwarma."

"I was too tired to enjoy it," he said. "I was falling asleep at the table. Stark couldn't stop laughing."

"That sounds like Tony," Amanda said. "Now let's talk about us," she said.

It had been long enough; this time was going to be just about her and Steve.

**.Chapter One.**

Steve got dressed and just enough to make himself decent to answer the door. He'd ordered dinner in and he was going to climb back in bed with Amanda the second he closed the door.

The food was in his hand when he heard his phone ringing in the bedroom.

"Steve, your phone is ringing," Amanda called.

"I don't know why these things exist," he said grouchily. He handed the bag to Amanda, who was wrapped in a sheet toga-style. She moved to get up with the food, but he shook his head and held up his hand to stop her. She settled back in and waited for him to deal with the phone call.

"Hello?" he said into the phone.

"Banner and I are going to the basketball game tonight. I got you a ticket. You're coming," Tony announced.

"I can't. I'm busy," Steve said.

"That sounds suspiciously like a lie," Stark said. "I didn't know that you _could_ lie. Game's at eight; we'll pick you up."

"No, you won't, Stark. I'm not going."

He didn't want to tell them about Amanda; he wanted her all to himself.

"Whatever," Tony hissed into the phone. It was loud enough for Amanda to hear across the room.

Steve disconnected the call.

"He's acting like a petulant child," Amanda observed.

"Fury put me in charge of the team," he said.

"That's great!" Amanda said.

"Communication kind of broke down in the middle of it all," Steve said. "Hulk attacked Natasha, and then Thor attacked the Hulk. Barton was compromised; he was being controlled by Loki. And Stark and I…"

"You two had an argument?" she guessed.

"_Several_ arguments. It all worked out in the end, but everyone has kind of left me alone," Steve said.

"I am sorry about that."

"And Stark's tower is a behemoth blocking the New York skyline," Steve replied bitterly.

"I've never seen you like this," Amanda replied, observing him. He was tense.

He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Like what?" he asked, opening the bag of food.

"Usually you're so even-tempered."

"It's been a long couple of weeks," Steve replied. "Lousy weeks. But it's all right," he said. "You're back and the world is safe again. Let's eat."

XXXXX

Steve held her close to him. She was snoring softly and sleeping deeply. She'd probably catch hell tomorrow for not telling anyone she was home, but she said she didn't care.

They'd made love three times since they'd walked back into Steve's apartment. If he had any say about it, she'd never leave his sight again. But they would need to buy a new headboard for his bed, as it was cracked and splintered and they would need to clean up the kitchen counter before they cooked anything else. That memory made him smile.

His eyes began to close as she nestled her face further into his chest.

A banging on the door woke him a couple of hours later. Who would be stupid enough to play a prank on Steve Rogers? Amanda was still fast asleep and he moved as gently as possible to keep from waking her.

He found his sweats and pulled them on quickly, willing the pounding to stop.

He wrenched open the door without checking the camera or peephole.

Tony Stark, totally drunk with Bruce Banner, stood at his doorstep.

"This had better be life or death," Steve said, running a hand through his just-had-sex hair.

"What were you so busy doing?" Tony slurred in an accusatory tone.

Flat-footed and not in his suit, Tony came up to Steve's nose. Steve leaned disinterestedly on the doorframe, a wall of muscle keeping Tony from seeing the clothes strewn about in a path to the bedroom. His only problem would be if Banner got agitated.

"Things to do, Stark. Go home. You're drunk," Steve said.

"I tried to get him to go home. But he started to yell like a child. It was easier to bring him to you."

"Gee, thanks, Banner."

"Who's here?" Tony yelled. He was peering around Steve and hand to have caught sight of something feminine on the floor.

"Nobody."

"You wearing a bra 'cause your pecs got to big?" Stark said.

Steve used one hand to hold Stark back.

"You need to go home and sleep this off," Steve said.

"Who is in there with you? Someone that's naked!" Tony said.

Tony was really drunk. Really, _really_ drunk.

"You're acting like a jealous girlfriend, Stark," Banner smirked.

"Watch it, Banner," Stark hissed. "You're cheating on Amanda. Not okay!"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Watch what you say, Stark."

"You're an asshole, Rogers," Tony said, carefully enunciating each syllable. "You're supposed to be America's…" he paused to hiccup. "…hero. But you're just some loser," Tony drunkenly carried on.

Steve's face was a mask of indifference. He didn't argue; he didn't protest.

It wasn't until Tony started poking him hard in the chest that Steve did anything. He had Stark by the wrist and pushed him back. Tony was caught-off guard and stumbled back into the wall.

"You're going to regret that, Rogers," Stark said in a low growl.

He righted himself and charged Steve.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Amanda yelled. She was once more wrapped in the plaid sheet from Steve's bed.

Tony's face went pale.

"Welcome home, Amanda," Bruce said.

"Howdy," she said sarcastically. "I ask again, what the hell is going on here?"

"When did you get home?" Tony said, coming out of his drunken state rather quickly.

"This afternoon. I think you owe Steve an apology for calling him an asshole," she said.

"You heard that?"

"They heard it in Asgard."

"Why are you so bruised up?"Tony asked.

"The mission I was on," she said sourly. "Go home. I'm done talking to you, Tony. I have a meeting in the morning."

Tony shuffled slowly down the hall and Banner followed after him.

Amanda headed back to the bedroom, leaving Steve alone in the doorway.

It wasn't exactly how either one of them had figured tonight would go, but they were good at improvising.

Steve closed the door and followed behind her. He wondered if the modern world was always going to be like this.

… … …

A/N: Okay, what did you think?


	2. Chapter 2

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

.Chapter Two.

The next morning, Amanda did have a meeting as she told Tony, Doctor Banner and Steve. And the ride to the new SHIELD base in the New York-area was quiet. She was still very angry with Tony and what he'd done and that he'd accused Steve of being a cheater.

"Glad to see you back, Agent Carter," Director Fury said as she strolled into his office.

"I'm glad to be back, sir," Amanda said.

"I trust that you accomplished everything that you set out to do," he replied.

"Of course, sir," Amanda nodded.

"Any major incidents I should be aware of?" he focused on her with his good eye.

"Something like blowing up all of New York City?" she replied sarcastically. Fury didn't respond; he merely stared with this good eye. It was too soon, apparently. "No, I only have a couple new scars, nothing else. I did have to improvise because our intel was severely lacking."

Fury looked at her as she sat down in the chair opposite his desk.

"What do you mean?" he said, narrowing his eye at her.

"I mean, the information we had was outdated. Like, tremendously outdated. I got in there and nothing was what I had been told; nothing matched what we knew. It's entirely possible that there was a massive regime change, but I doubt it. The people that run Advance Idea Mechanics don't move that quickly."

"He wanted to make sure that I told you that he'd made it safely and he was deeply indebted to you," Fury replied.

Amanda frowned and busied herself with straightening the suit jacket she was wearing. She tried to hide the fact that she was rolling her eyes at his statement.

"Agent Carter, you did a very good job," Fury said. "There wasn't anything else you could have done better. Mission accomplished. A job well done. Have you told Rogers where you were or what you were doing?"

"No. I decided it was best that he didn't know any of the details in case something comes from this. I don't want to drag him into something that he doesn't need to be a part of."

"I see," Fury replied.

"Has he had any information that's been useful or is he still in his drug-induced stupor?" Amanda asked. "They gassed him when I was trying to get him out. I put him on the first transport and then took the next one."

"We've been observing Doctor Faustus since he arrived back here on our premises, but so far, nothing. Well, nothing useful anyway," Fury explained. "The toxin that they used was mostly harmless. They didn't want to kill him; they just wanted to make him dead weight for you."

She shook her head. "It was almost like he didn't _want_ to come back with me. I don't trust him, still, but if you think he's worth our time, who am I to argue with the director of the organization?" Amanda asked.

Fury clasped his hands behind his back and faced his window, but continued to address her. "Well, you are my second in command: please, tell me why you don't trust him?"

"I don't trust him because he was employed by AIM," Amanda said.

"He was _kidnapped_ by AIM years ago. We've been working on getting him out for a while once we finally secured his location. They forced him into working for them."

"I think that might have been some of the old intel that we had," Amanda replied.

"You have reason to believe that he wasn't being held as a prisoner? He was working for us in the late 80s, early 90s," Fury said. "Please enlighten me, Agent Carter."

"A lot can happen in a couple of hours, let alone a couple of decades, Director Fury," Amanda replied. "Why do _you_ trust him?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Fury asked in response. "He was trustworthy for us before; why wouldn't we trust him now?"

"Because it looked a lot like he was working _for_ AIM rather than _pretending_ to work for them," Amanda said. "There _is_ a difference."

"I am aware of that, Agent Carter and I will keep what you've brought to my attention in mind," Fury said. "That being said, Amanda, I want you to take some time off. Get some rest," he said.

"I'm fine, Director," Amanda said.

"I wasn't asking if you were okay, Amanda. I _know_ you're okay. I'm telling you to take the time off. It's an order," Fury finished. "For you to operate at your best, you need to take the time to rest. Get your head together. Visit with your aunt and Rogers and your family."

"Why do I feel like there's a catch?" Amanda asked.

"Well, you're going to need to adjust. Agents Barton and Romanoff are going to be going on their own assignment. Stark is going back to the west coast and I believe Banner is planning on going with him. That leaves you in New York with me and Rogers. And I'm not that good of company," Fury finished.

"Tony's going back to California?" Amanda asked. She felt a twinge of guilt that she'd been so mad at him, despite what he'd done and what he'd said. Amanda pushed the feeling away; Tony had been an ass last night and deserved her anger.

"Yes, ma'am. Mr. Stark decided that it would be best to return to California and his work there. He really didn't like spending that much time away from Ms. Potts and his house," Fury said.

"I see," Amanda said, nodding her head. "Has there been any movement in the direction of being able to contact Asgard?"

"No, there hasn't been a method of contact between realms yet. But hopefully, on one side or the other, the technology will be available. But we're hopeful that should another attack happen, we'll be well prepared."

"I almost doubt that, if not for Thor and his relationship with Jane Foster, that Asgard wouldn't want anything to do with Midgard," Amanda said.

"Well, that may be true, but doesn't change anything currently. I need you to report to the lab so you can get checked out fully, you also need to make sure your report is complete and then you are free to enjoy your vacation," Fury said.

Amanda blinked. She hadn't had a vacation in…well…she hadn't been on a vacation since she was a child. It didn't bother her, but she didn't even know what to do on a vacation. What do normal people do when they got a vacation?

But this was a mandatory vacation.

"Am I being disciplined? Was I not satisfactory on this mission?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

"Agent Carter, I'm offering you a vacation. It probably will never happen again. You are not suspended; you are merely being ordered to take some time to rest and let that burn heal on your back."

"How did you…?" Amanda asked.

"I know everything," Fury replied. "Now, go get checked out and finish your report."

He ushered her out of his office and Amanda stood outside his door for a minute before collecting herself and heading down the hallway. She was going to figure it all out; it was just going to take a little bit.

… … …

Captain Steve Rogers woke up and started to turn over in his bed. He reached for the body that should be in the bed next to him and found nothing but cold sheets.

"Amanda?" Steve called, but he received no response.

He focused on the digital clock next on the nightstand next to him. It was only six-thirty.

Climbing out of the bed, Steve pulled on a pair of sweat pants that were draped haphazardly over the chair in his room and he padded barefoot out to the kitchen. Everything in the apartment was dark; Amanda was not here.

He wasn't sure why his initial feeling was to panic and worry about her. She was absolutely able to take care of herself; she'd proven that more than once in the short time that he'd known her. But he found himself dialing her cell phone number and hoping that she was going to pick up.

After four rings, she finally did.

"Hello?" she said quietly.

"Good morning," he replied. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm down at SHIELD HQ; I told you I had a meeting with Fury this morning, didn't I?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, but you said it was at nine," he replied, yawning slightly.

"He moved it to oh-five hundred," Amanda replied. "I'm just finishing my report on the mission and then I am on official vacation," she finished, the word still feeling weird in her mouth.

"Vacation?" Steve asked.

"Yes, Fury is insisting that I take some time to rest and relax. Spend some time with you," she said flirtatiously.

"I like the sound of that," Steve said.

"Meet me for breakfast?" Amanda asked.

"Absolutely," Steve said.

"I worked up quite the appetite last night," she smiled. The young agent that was in the office with her turned a deep shade of red. "I just made the newbie here really uncomfortable," she laughed as she told Steve.

"Well, I'll let you go so I can get cleaned up and so you don't get in trouble at SHIELD. I'll see you in forty minutes? The regular place?"

"Sounds great."

… … …

Amanda sighed as she put her phone away. He'd never been a boyfriend before, but he was pretty good at playing the overprotective type. But she suspected that regardless of who he was dating, or what era of time it was, that Steve Rogers was just the kind of guy that worried about…well, everything.

Truthfully, it was kind of nice to have someone that worried about her. It wasn't that she was an attention hog, far from it actually, but she liked that he wondered where she was. Her parents loved her, but they would have preferred that she stayed home in Virginia and lived at the family house. That definitely wasn't her either. And since she wasn't at home with them, she was essentially 'out of sight, out of mind.'

She re-read her report for the third time and decided it was as good as it was going to get. She'd been at it for forty-five minutes. It was hard enough to try to put all the details on paper; doing it concisely in less than a thousand words (as Fury preferred) was not her strong suit.

Amanda saved the document and pulled the flash drive from the USB drive on the computer. She strolled quickly to the front of the room and handed it to the young man in charge of the space.

"Have a good day, Agent Carter," he said nervously. The poor kid had probably been new to SHIELD and then had to deal with the alien situation really early into his training. But with any luck, that would be the only time he'd ever have to do that.

"Thank you, you too," she replied as she exited the room.

Her first steps from the building made her feel like a weight was coming off of her shoulders. Amanda loved her job, but having a break where she could act like a normal 26 year old was going to be nice, even if she wasn't going to be wearing a backless dress for a while.

Steve was at an outdoor table waiting for her as she rounded the corner. It was a little out of the way restaurant, but it was _their_ little out of the way restaurant. They made their French toast just the way she liked it and Steve liked their eggs Benedict.

"So, what would you want to first on your time off?" Steve asked as he helped her into her chair.

He took his seat and smiled at her.

"I don't know. I haven't had time off in a long time," Amanda said. "What do you want to do?"

"Unfortunately, Fury is making me report tomorrow morning to speak with the staff psychologist," Steve said.

Amanda's smile fell.

"He is?"

"The director thought it would be good for me to speak with someone and have them evaluate my adjustment into the modern world. I can't say that I disagree with him," Steve said.

"I wonder why he didn't say anything to me today about this," Amanda said.

"I don't know," Steve said.

"Did he say who the appointment was with?" Amanda asked.

"Doctor Faustus, I believe," Steve said.

…

Okay, there was chapter 2. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

.Chapter 3.

"Please sit down, Mr…I mean, Captain Rogers," he said, as Steve shrugged uncomfortably into the office. Steve looked around. Books lined all of the walls and the remaining small space was filled with dark wood furniture and a dark leather couch.

"Please call me Steve," he said. "You must be Doctor Faustus?" he asked as he took a seat on the couch opposite the desk that the man sat at.

"I am," the doctor replied. "Forgive me for not standing," he said as he came around his desk in his wheelchair. "My knees are giving me troubles again today."

"No problem, sir," Steve said.

"So, Steve, I've been reading up on you. Do you feel like you are adjusting to the world now?" Doctor Faustus asked.

Steve was silent for a minute. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. And he also didn't know if he trusted this doctor.

As soon as he'd told Amanda which of the SHIELD psychiatrists that he would be working with, she'd flipped her lid. Steve had thought she'd lost her mind the way she carried on.

"_Steve, I don't think you should go to that appointment," she said. _

"_Director Fury told me that I'm supposed to meet with Doctor Faustus," Steve said. "And I have to follow…"_

"_I know, you have to follow orders," Amanda sighed. "I can talk to Fury…"_

_Steve held up his hand. "I'll just go talk to him for a few minutes and be done."_

"_I can't tell you why, but I don't trust Doctor Faustus," Amanda said as calmly as possible. "I know Fury trusts him, but I can't trust this man myself."_

"_Why can't you tell me?"_

"_It has to do with when I was gone. But it started a long time ago," Amanda said. "I know you feel like you have to listen to Fury, because…"_

"_Because I do. Without him I wouldn't be here today," Steve said. _

_Steve saw the hurt look on Amanda's face and he tried to back-track._

"_I just have to talk to him for a few minutes. They want to make sure I'm adjusting to the modern world okay," Steve said. "And I wouldn't be where I am without you either," he said, attempting to put his hand on her arm to comfort her._

"_You should cancel your appointment, or reschedule it. Until I have a chance to figure Faustus out a little better," Amanda said. "I can talk to Fury…"_

_Steve held up his hand. "Its fine, Amanda. Besides, Fury doesn't want you near SHIELD until your vacation is over."_

"_I don't care."_

"_Please be rational about this," Steve said. _

_The look on Amanda's face said it all. She was very upset._

"_Fine, Captain Rogers, do whatever you want; whatever you think you need to do. But when this all goes south…" she trailed off before slamming the door to their bedroom behind her._

"_That didn't go well," Steve muttered to himself._

Steve forced himself to be present in the conversation he was having with Doctor Faustus.

"How do you feel about the recent events in New York City?" the doctor asked.

Steve thought for a moment.

"I think there is always room for improvement, but considering the circumstances, I think we all made a good team," Steve answered. "Although, getting the crash course on everything has been a little overwhelming."

"Would you say overwhelming as good or bad?" the doctor asked.

"I'm not sure if the word overwhelming can mean something good," Steve replied. "Even though it's overwhelming, I feel like I've been doing okay. I function pretty well in stressful situations. After all, that's what I'm here for."

"Is that how you feel? That you were simply created for this one purpose?" Doctor Faustus asked.

"Well, if you know something that I don't about the Super-Soldier program, I'd be very interested in hearing it, Doctor Faustus. But as far as I know, it was an option for me because I was a skinny, sickly kid from Brooklyn who just wanted to serve his country. I was determined to do it and Doctor Erskine offered me that chance. But the Super-Soldier program was created because first HYDRA wanted a race of guys built just to fight. When the Red Skull went crazy after a failed attempt at it, Erskine came to America," Steve said. "You probably know most of this anyway."

"I'm interested how you feel about being the only person that it worked for," the doctor asked.

"It's changed over time. The American public loved me; saw me as a symbol of hope during the war, despite the fact that I hadn't done anything for the war except push war bonds. The soldiers doing the actual work and fighting for an end to the war hated me. I was dressed up and useless."

The doctor nodded. "But then something changed."

"Yes. I went out and did some real work, earned my title. And then it all ended. Well, they told me it all ended when I woke up, but the world doesn't really seem to be in any better shape than it was," Steve explained.

"Do you really feel that way?"

"Just because the Red Skull isn't behind it, doesn't mean the world is in bad shape," Steve said. "But I'm always going to do what I can to help fix it."

"That's very admirable," Doctor Faustus replied.

"I suppose," Steve said. "It's just always how I've felt."

"And I understand you're in a relationship with one of the SHIELD agents now. How would you say that's going?"

Steve blew out a breath and smiled. For some reason, his first thought wasn't that Amanda Carter was angry as hell at him. Steve remembered the night they'd shared when she got home from her undercover mission. He found himself blushing in response.

"That well, eh?" the doctor asked.

"I'd prefer not to talk about Amanda," Steve said in response. He knew he'd be in even more trouble with her if he talked about her to a psychiatrist.

"Captain Rogers, everything you say is always going to be between the two of us. It's Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. You can trust me."

Steve was still unsure. Amanda didn't trust him at all and therefore he wasn't sure if he should trust this man either.

"What's keeping you from opening up, Captain?" he asked, looking right into Steve's eyes. Steve tried to look away, but he was transfixed.

"Amanda doesn't trust you," Steve blurted out. He was never a good liar to begin with, but something was making him answer this man.

"So because Agent Carter doesn't trust me, you are unsure of whether or not to trust me. I understand the dilemma. Why should you trust me? You don't know me, or anything about me. However, you _can_ and _should_ trust me, Captain Rogers," he said slowly.

Steve nodded his head.

"Do you trust me now?"

"Yes, I do trust you, Doctor Faustus," he repeated back.

Doctor Faustus smiled. "Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you tell me about your girlfriend?"

…

Amanda Carter was pacing anxiously while she waited for Steve to come back to their apartment. She didn't like the way that they'd left things, but there wasn't much she could do about it now other than apologize once he got home.

It had been too long, though. Where was he?

…

Once Steve had finished his session with Doctor Faustus, he had gone for a long walk. He felt weird. He knew that he'd kept talking to the doctor for a long time, but he wasn't sure what he'd said. Steve wasn't sure what had happened and he really didn't like that. And what was he going to tell Amanda when he got home?

He found himself standing outside of their apartment building debating on whether he was going to go in or if he should just continue his walk.

Steve's cell phone began to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket. Checking the display he immediately answered it.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said.

"Where are you? Is everything okay?" Amanda asked.

"I'm just outside. Give me a minute and I'll be in."

Amanda disconnected the call.

It was now or never. He was going to have to go answer the questions; the problem was, he didn't have any of the answers.

…

"No, even though he's super strong, his mind is just as pliable as anyone else's," Doctor Faustus said, sitting back in his desk chair. He was on the phone in his office.

"Are we going to be able to use him?" the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Of course we'll be able to use him," the doctor said.

"Did you insist that he should come back for more sessions?" the voice said.

"Yes, Herr Skull," Doctor Faustus said. "He's got a standing appointment three days a week."

"Good," the Skull replied. "The plan needs to move forward quickly. I know you can do this."

"Of course, Herr Skull," he replied before they both disconnected the call.

… … …

Author's Note: My sincere apologies that I haven't been updating much on this story. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to work on 4 stories at once. Anyway, let me know what you think!

And a great big ol' thank you to those people that have stuck with me. I truly appreciate it!


	4. Chapter 4

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

Chapter Four

"You have your orders, captain," Doctor Faustus said.

Steve nodded. "Yes, Doctor Faustus," he said.

"You may go now," Doctor Faustus said in his low tone. "I shall see you next week, Steve," he finished in a much lighter, less monotone, voice.

Steve smiled and shook the doctor's hand before exiting the office.

He'd been seeing Doctor Faustus' for three weeks now. Since Amanda had returned to her SHIELD duties a couple weeks prior, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

After his appointment, he was supposed to go meet with Director Fury. He hadn't talked to him in a while and Steve hoped this was good news for him. He was bored.

Steve walked his way to Fury's office and before he could knock, the door slid open.

"Hi, Cap," Fury said from his desk.

"Director Fury," Steve nodded.

"Please, take a seat," Fury told him and Steve did as he was told. "So, how have you been? Good things coming from meeting with Doctor Faustus?"

Steve smiled and relaxed a bit into his chair.

"I mean, I'm no professional, but I think so," he smiled.

Fury nodded. "I'm glad to hear that, Cap. So I know you have to be bored, sitting there on your hands," he said.

Steve wasn't sure how to answer the director, so he said nothing.

"Well, I want you to be in charge of another team, Cap," Fury said.

"Another team?" he asked. "What about the Avengers?"

"You'll always be in charge of the Avengers, but with Stark and Banner on the west coast…"

"And Thor went back to wherever he came from," Steve interjected.

"Right. Since you're here and they aren't right now, you're New York's symbol of protection."

"I'm not going to have to perform in anymore musical numbers, am I?" Steve asked.

Fury laughed audibly. "No, no, Cap. No dance numbers this time. I just want the world to get to know that you're here. And we have reason to believe that the Red Skull is back."

Steve jumped out of his chair. "What?! I killed him."

"Well, you should have been dead, too, Cap," Fury said.

Steve began pacing. "What makes you think he's back?"

"Some of the intel gathered by your pal Barnes," Fury said.

Fury turned to his computer and a protection appeared across the wall. It showed a map of the western border of Germany and then there was close up of one of the old HYDRA bunkers.

"Germany didn't notice that they old HYRDA buildings had people in them?" Steve asked sarcastically. "I feel like they should be keeping an eye on that sort of thing."

"I agree with you, there, Cap. However, since they were kind of falling behind, we sent Barnes and Romanoff," Fury told him.

"They believe that they have had a Red Skull sighting," Fury continued.

Steve fought the urge to put his fist through the wall.

"I have to go then," Steve said. "I need to put an end to the Red Skull for once and for all. Although, I'm pretty sure I did it 70 years ago."

"We don't think he's completely human. He might be partially android now."

"Android?" Steve repeated, letting the word wash around. "Do you mean robot? They just pulled him out of the water somehow and turned him into a robot?"

"Well, for all intensive purposes, yes, but that's not quite how it worked," Fury said. "They're working with AIM."

"Advanced Idea Mechanics," Steve said.

"Yes," Fury replied. "AIM has been doing some weird experimentation and we believe they're working on androids which could rival our LMDs."

"What?" Steve asked.

"LMDs are Life Model Decoys. We've kept that fact under wraps form you Steve because we thought it might be too much, too soon," Fury said.

"Does Amanda know about them?" Steve asked. He wasn't sure why he asked that, but he did. And he asked it with a lot more anger in his voice than he could understand.

"Yes, Amanda knows about LMDs. But she was sworn to not tell you until I gave her the okay. She was only following orders. You have to know that, right, Steve?"

Steve's anger dissipated and he nodded.

"Of course," Steve said. "So, what are the next steps? Who am I going to have on my team?"

Fury nodded and smiled and he opened his office door by pushing a button on his desk.

"I'm hoping you'll pick this man," he said as he rose from his seat.

Steve turned around and found himself smiling.

"Agent Coulson?" Steve asked in disbelief.

"In the flesh," Coulson replied. "Good to see you, Captain Rogers."

"It's good to see you, too, Agent Coulson," Steve replied. "Weren't you…"

"I was, but thanks to our technology, I was able to be brought back."

"He's not one of those LMDs, is he?" Steve asked.

"No, Cap. He's all Coulson, right?" Fury asked.

"Yes, all Coulson," Agent Coulson replied.

"Well, it's good to have you back. And I would be honored to have you on my team," Steve said as he extended his hand.

Coulson shook his hand excitedly and smiled. "And I've got a couple ideas for you, too, Cap."

"What exactly do you want our team to do? What is our task?" Steve asked.

"Task number one is to figure out what AIM is up to," Fury said.

"Figure out what AIM is up to," Steve repeated. "What about the Red Skull?"

"Trust me, Cap, figuring out AIM is going to be a lot more difficult than it sounds," Fury said. "But we know you're the man for the job."

"From what I already know about AIM, I would say Stark is a better choice," Steve said.

"Stark is busy. And he decided to take a leave of absence from SHIELD. He told us that he didn't want anything to do with us for a bit and we are honoring his wishes," Fury said. "So, he is temporarily out of commission."

"Oh," Steve replied.

He wondered if Amanda knew about Tony, too. She hadn't mentioned anything, but that obviously didn't mean anything.

"Steve?" Director Fury said. "Are you all right?"

Steve nodded. "Is it all right if I head out?"

"Of course," Director Fury nodded. "I will be in contact in the next couple of days. Feel free to talk this over with Agent Carter."

Steve nodded once more at Fury, shook Coulson's hand once more and then exited the office.

His mind was conflicted. He could feel it and he was very unsure. Every time he thought of Amanda, or she was mentioned, anger built up inside of him. Steve hadn't felt like that this morning, why was it happening now?

He couldn't go back to the apartment feeling like this. Where could he go, though? He realized there was only one place.

He made a detour in the SHIELD headquarters and then made his way to the gymnasium. Steve was going to pummel the hell out of a punching bag and hopefully the feelings he was experiencing would go away.

He changed and began working out to try to clear his mind. Three hours into his workout, he could hear his cell phone ringing across the room. He continued to hit the bag and it swung wildly on its chains. He let the phone ring and ring. He couldn't answer it. Not while he still felt like she was behind all of his anger.

…

Back at Steve's apartment, Amanda stared confusedly at her phone. Steve _always_ called her back immediately. It had been hours since she'd first called him and now she was still trying to get a hold of him. Something was wrong. And Amanda had a sick feeling that it was because of Doctor Faustus.

…

Please review. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

Chapter

"I had a dream that he killed me," Amanda said into the receiver.

"I've had that dream," Natasha replied. "That's all it is: a dream. I wouldn't worry about it."

"You had a dream that Clint killed you?" Amanda asked.

"Job hazard, I think. We're spies; assassins, it comes with the territory," Nat replied. "It's not like he'd ever _actually_ do it. And he wouldn't be the one left alive in the end anyway," Nat laughed.

"I just…"

"Don't worry about it, Manda," Nat told her. "It was just a dream. And don't go into any of that psychological bullshit with me. Dreams are just dreams."

"Thanks, Nat," Amanda said. "How's the vacation? Enjoying your time away from the cold? It looks like a blizzard here," she said as she glanced out of the window.

"Clint's still asleep…it's one p.m. our time. He's missed most of today."

"So, he's enjoying it. How about you?" Amanda asked.

"I'm happy to be here. It's warm and sunny and it's right on the beach. But I almost wish I were back in New York with you," she confessed. "I'm not meant to have vacation time. I'm definitely not the kind of person who can relax."

"Well, I hope you can pretend to relax. Because I'm pretty sure Steve and Coulson are onto something with HYDRA," Amanda said.

"I know something else is coming. I feel it."

"I do, too," Amanda said. "At least you went somewhere. I stayed and did laundry."

"With your boyfriend…Captain America," Nat said.

"You're not going to let me forget that, are you?" she asked.

"Nope. Not in my nature."

Amanda heard a groan on the other end of the phone, even though it sounded like it was some distance away.

"Who are you talking to?" Amanda recognized the voice as Clint's.

"Amanda."

"Hi Amanda!" he called.

"Tell Clint _hey_," she laughed.

"Manda says hi. And I say go put some pants on if you're going to come here in view of the beach."

Amanda laughed.

"I don't know the SHIELD protocols for agents flashing civilians," Amanda told Nat.

"I don't either, but I don't think it'll be pleasant," she told both Clint and Amanda. "I gotta go. Don't worry, okay?" She made her last statement a question, but she didn't mean it as a request.

"Right. Talk to you soon."

They both disconnected and Amanda walked around the corner in Steve's apartment. She was there alone and she took a minute to enjoy it. It smelled like his aftershave and it made her feel like he was there even though he'd left for SHIELD HQ a couple hours ago.

Amanda needed to be in to see Fury that day, too, but she was procrastinating. Something was up with Fury and Amanda needed to figure it out.

The last couple months had been…unorganized…and on top of everything, Steve had been working with Coulson on research about HYDRA and their potential, and likely, involvement with AIM. The name Aldrich Killian kept popping up, but they weren't sure how he figured into things.

There was also someone calling himself The Mandarin was blowing things and people up and not leaving any forensic evidence of how he was doing it. SHIELD was keeping its hands off the bombing much to most SHIELD agent's confusion. Fury seemed to be keeping SHIELD on a low profile since the incidents with the Chitauri just a few months ago.

Amanda started to pull her boot on to go out into the winter weather that was New York right now. With any luck, Amanda would have uninterrupted holidays in the city with Steve, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. Nothing had really been going right for the two of them and she was hoping that a couple days together for the holidays might help them out.

Her phone started to ring again and she dashed with one boot on to grab it.

"Hello," she smiled into the phone. She was delighted that it was this picture that showed up on her phone.

"Hey, kid," Tony replied.

"You haven't called me kid since I was ten years old," Amanda replied. "How is everything in California?"

"If you were Pepper, would you rather have a giant teddy bear or an iguana?"

"Are those my only choices?" Amanda asked.

"I hope you're going to say teddy bear, because I've already ordered it."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm good, I'm good," Tony replied.

"Are you serious about the giant teddy bear?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, geez. A giant teddy bear?"

"So, have you told the Captain what _you_ want for Christmas? Or have you already found the _package_ he has for you?" Tony laughed.

"Oh, Tony."

"What? You don't want to talk about Cap's other skills? I'll bet he was a virgin til he met you, wasn't he? Ya know, based on what my dad told me about how shy he was during the war…" Tony asked. "When are you just going to make it official and start popping out some Cap-lets?"

"I could ask the same of you," Amanda said. "Why haven't you had some babies of your own?"

"Do you really think the world is ready for a bunch of Baby Starks?" he asked.

"The world will _never_ be ready," Amanda laughed. "I just imagined a bunch of mini-yous in tiny Iron Man suits. It was terrifying."

Tony said nothing. Normally, they'd continue their back and forth teasing, but now there was only silence on the line.

"Tony?" Amanda asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sleeping. I haven't been able to sleep in weeks," he finally confided.

"Have you been checked out by a doctor and not by JARVIS? Can you talk to someone?" Amanda asked.

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Pepper? A doctor?" Amanda threw out ideas.

"You're a doctor."

"I'm also your God-daughter. And that's not my training."

"What? You aren't trained to deal with me?"

"No. No one could ever possibly be trained to deal with you. But it's unethical since we're basically family," Amanda replied. "And why can't you talk to Pepper?"

"She's mad at me," Tony said quietly.

"Shocker there," Amanda replied sarcastically.

"Thanks, kid," Tony replied.

"Tony, you know I love you and I'd do just about anything for you…"

"_Just about anything?_"

"I'm not getting in between you and Pepper. You're a big boy. Usually," Amanda told him. "What about Rhodey, can you talk to him?"

"He let them paint War Machine to look like your boyfriend."

"I heard. Iron Patriot," Amanda said.

"It's ridiculous. Cap should be the only one in a spangly suit. It fits his personality better."

"Well, did you hear the news about Coulson?" she asked.

"No," he groaned. He'd been trying to forget Coulson.

"He's back. Coulson lives." Amanda smiled into the phone.

"What?" Tony said. "You all figured that out without me?"

"We're just _that_ good, Tony," Amanda replied.

There was more silence on the phone and Amanda resolved to call someone about Tony.

"Well, I should let you go, kid. Keep yourself outta trouble, okay?" he told her.

"Tony?"

"Yeah."

"Call me anytime, all right?" Amanda told him. "I miss you. Even though you did show up at Steve's apartment drunk and accusing him of cheating on me."

Tony finally chuckled and Amanda smiled.

"Come out to the west coast sometime and I'll show you what you're missing," he said. "You haven't even seen the house since I built it."

"I know," Amanda said. "I'll definitely make plans to come out there."

"Okay, MandyAnn. Bye."

"Bye."

The call was disconnected and she stared down at her phone.

First Nick Fury was acting weird…well, weirder. And now Tony was acting very unlike himself. He'd been different since the attack on New York, but this was extreme, even for Tony.

…

At SHIELD, she walked into a flurry of activity. She climbed in the elevator and went to the main SHIELD level and found most of the SHIELD staff running around in a panicked frenzy.

Amanda found Coulson and pulled him away from the TV screen that he was watching.

"What the hell is happening here?" she asked.

"Some kind of attack in LA," Coulson replied.

"LA?" Amanda said. "What's Fury doing about it? Don't you think it's time we stepped in and did something?" she asked.

"Fury is unreachable."

"He isn't here?" Amanda asked. "I was supposed to have a meeting with him.""

"If he is, he's hiding really well," Coulson said.

"I'm going to his office," Amanda said. "Have you tried calling him?"

Coulson gave her a look that she decided meant that he had attempting to call the director's cell phone.

"Okay, well…"

Amanda backed out of the room and headed for Fury's office.

She keyed in her personal access code and the door opened, but the room was empty, just as Coulson had told her. Where could Nick Fury be? Amanda wanted to know, but the possibilities were endless. As everyone always said, Nick Fury's "secrets have secrets" and even though she was second in command, there were things that she wasn't privy to.

Amanda headed for his desk to investigate what he'd left. There was nothing on the surface and Amanda started to look around on the floor, looking for any kinds of clues that he'd left in a big hurry.

Nothing.

She started to walk out of the room and if she hadn't kicked it across the floor, she would have missed it. She walked to where the piece of plastic had slid and picked it up. A USB drive.

Curiosity took over and she went back to Fury's computer and signed on to it using her pass code.

A video popped up on the memory stick and she began to play it.

Fury's face filled the video screen. "Agent Carter, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. You're in charge right now. Second-in-command is now the Director of SHIELD. I cannot tell you where I am or what I am doing. Just be careful."

The video quit playing and Amanda stared dumbfounded at it.

There was a knock on the door and Coulson appeared a moment later.

"Anything?" he asked her.

"Fury left me a message that I'm the acting-Director."

Coulson cocked his head, but didn't say anything.

"I don't know. He said in a video that he couldn't tell me what he was doing or where he was going, but that I'm in charge and to be careful," Amanda told Coulson.

She made sure to have Coulson watch the video and once it was over, he turned to her.

"Well, Director, Stark's security guy, Happy Hogan, was injured in the attack in LA. He's in a coma. And Stark just declared war on whoever the Mandarin is."

…

Okay, there ya go…let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

Chapter 6

Two weeks later, the research that Agent Coulson and Captain Rogers had been doing finally paid off. Steve and Coulson had managed to locate the abandoned factory that AIM was using in Brooklyn as their research lab.

Once presented with the information, Amanda go-ahead, but only if she could go along.

No one liked the idea, but what the Director wanted, the Director got.

Steve, truthfully, was happy to have her along. It was a feeling unlike any other as the two of them busted down the door together.

Steve had to give these guys credit, too. Despite the proximity they had to SHIELD headquarters, AIM had put up one hell of a good signal blocking device to make it look like another operation entirely.

But Steve had been suspicious and Coulson helped him investigate. And Amanda had rewarded Coulson with being left as acting-Director in her absence.

The fellas from this AIM unit were giving Steve and Amanda a run for their money. The other SHIELD agents fanned out throughout the building, but Amanda Carter and Steve Rogers ran for the control center.

"What's the plan here, Cap?" Amanda shouted as they ran.

Emergency alarms were sounded and lights were flashing as they headed toward the epicenter of the once-abandoned factory building.

Half a dozen AIM agents in their awful beekeeper-looking suits blocked their path as Steve and Amanda got closer to their end goal.

Steve punched one with his gloved fist and knocked another out with the edge of his shield. Amanda was busy kicking one as the others rushed forward. She spun suddenly and took two out with the quick movement.

Steve wanted as many AIM agents left alive as possible and Amanda wanted to adhere to that request as much as possible, but it was damn hard not to pull the gun she had on her thigh to shoot the bastards that were coming at her.

One pulled a knife on her and it caught her side; it wasn't a stab wound, just a scratch, but the blood immediately began to stain her white SHIELD suit.

Steve saw it out of the corner of his eye as he fought a feisty AIM agent of his own. She answered him by first bringing the knife-wielder to his knees and then kicking him in the head. He hit the ground with a vicious thud.

Sensing he was now out-numbered, the AIM agent, pushed a button on his suit and almost instantly slumped to the ground.

"People are still doing that?" Steve asked. "Cyanide tablets?"

"Apparently AIM is taking their clues from HYDRA," Amanda nodded. She toed the one that that had just fallen with the tip of her boot and he was lifeless.

"Shall we?" Amanda asked.

They really didn't have time to stand around. They probably had five minutes before they blew the whole place up.

The two of them rounded the corner and found themselves face to face with a herd of AIM agents and they had a really big cannon. They didn't even have a second to think about moving out of the way. Steve only had enough time to put himself between Amanda and the blue beam of electricity.

It didn't matter, though, how much protection he could give her, both of them were hit with the electricity. They were both knocked down and rendered unconscious.

Before Amanda opened her eyes, she felt the pain of her knife wound in her side. Maybe it was worse than she'd originally thought. Agent Carter forced herself to open her eyes and focus on her surroundings. Birds chirped and the wind rustled through the trees. They were definitely not in Brooklyn anymore.

Steve was lying next to her and she saw him begin to move.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked as she moved towards him. "Can you tell if anything is broken?"

Steve pushed himself up and the two of them sat next to each other trying to figure out their location.

He stood up and helped Amanda to her feet. Pulling back his Captain America helmet, he took in their surroundings.

"This looks familiar," he told her as he turned around in a full circle.

He heard voices in the distance, carried on the wind and he turned to listen. He couldn't make out what was being said.

"What do you mean _familiar_?" Amanda asked.

She heard the voices, too, but it was far too distant to hear what they were saying.

"I marched through woods like this a long time ago. After freeing the 107th…"

The voices were moving closer, but words were still unintelligible. But now the men's voices were accompanied by the sound of a large mechanical vehicle.

"You're saying we're in Germany?" Amanda asked.

"I'm saying it looks a lot like Germany. I don't know if it is."

"Well, we are definitely not in Brooklyn anymore," Steve asserted. "So if you have any ideas…"

"We must have…I don't know. It must have been that blast, Steve. I thought it was a normal gun, but…"

"It acted like a time machine?" Steve said.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Amanda asked.

The sounds of the voices were even closer and now they were visible. Amanda squinted towards them and almost fainted.

"I think that's you," she said.

"It really is the forest from where I rescued Bucky and the 107th," he said.

As the two of them watched the 107th infantry marching toward them. It dawned on Amanda that this could have horrible implications.

"They can't see us."

"I'm sure they will be able to," Steve said.

"No. They cannot see us, Steve. The world as we know it could change. Two Captain Americas? And they have a lot more fire power than we do."

Steve nodded. They had HYDRA weapons on top of their regular weapons and they had just won a huge fight against HYDRA. They'd probably think it was a trick by HYDRA and start firing on them. Especially with two caps and Amanda's resemblance to Peggy Carter.

"We have to go back to camp, though," Steve told her. "Because Howard Stark is the only person who will be able to send us home."

…

"We've cleared the entire building, sir," a SHIELD agent said into his earpiece. "They aren't here. And neither one of them is answering when we call them."

"Where do you suppose they would be then, Agent Matthews?" Coulson replied.

Coulson was standing in the middle of the research floor of Stark Tower. SHIELD agents were all around him and the usually calm and collected agent lost his patience.

"Captain Rogers and Agent 13 could not have just up and disappeared!" he shouted into his own communicator.

"Well, sir, they are not here," Matthews repeated.

Coulson pressed a button and ended their conversation.

The SHIELD team was dwindling: Hill was in California, Fury was still MIA and now Agent Carter and Captain America were both missing. Luckily, Agents Romanoff and Barton were back, because he was going to need them.

"Get Romanoff and Barton here ASAP. Tell them it's Level 7."

The room went silent before someone went to the task of getting a hold of agents as requested.

…

Author's note: Thanks for being patient! I went on vacation, but I worked the whole time on writing! Let me know what you thought! I appreciate it!


	7. Chapter 7

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

Chapter Seven

"Let's hear it for Captain America!" Bucky shouted.

The entire camp shouted in gratitude to the one man responsible for reuniting the entire 107th infantry.

Agent Amanda Carter saw the look of pride on both of the Captain Rogers' faces and couldn't help but smile herself. But that didn't last long. She knew they were in trouble.

No matter what they did, their actions could create change throughout all time. And the idea of maybe never knowing Steve back in 2013 scared her.

Steve looked down to his girlfriend. He knew the look on her face. He was worried, too, but definitely less so. It was the first time in a long time that he felt like he was where he belonged, despite the fact that it was incredibly not true.

How was he going to explain to Colonel Philips, Peggy and Howard Stark that there were two Captain Americas? And that he looked the same because he ends up frozen in ice for 70 years?

"We just need to wait a bit longer," Steve told her. "How's your side?" He eyed her curiously, waiting for her to lie to him.

"It hurts like hell, but I'll be all right. I think the bleeding has pretty much stopped," Amanda told him.

The entire side of her white SHIELD suit was stained red and had darkened to a hideous dark color as it dried. The fabric was torn and her hip showed through it.

Amanda was exhausted and she looked it. It had been a long couple of weeks for her since Fury's abrupt departure. Steve knew she hadn't been sleeping because she'd spent maybe two nights with him since her promotion. Well, three if you counted the morning he'd found her passed out fully-clothed on the couch in the living room.

"Once I talk to Peggy and myself, I guess, we can get a place to rest and we'll get you bandaged up," Steve told her. "Can you make it a few more minutes?"

"I think I'm going to have to," she replied. "We don't have a choice."

"You're probably right," Steve told her.

"Do you remember this?" Amanda asked.

"Yes," Steve replied. "Right now I'm in that tent with Colonel Philips telling him that I'm surrendering myself for any punishment for going against orders."

"Oh."

"And he told me that it wouldn't be necessary."

"Well, you just rescued a hell of a lot of men from certain death," Amanda told him. "Including your best friend."

"You know that story?" he asked.

"That's the story I liked Aunt Peggy to tell me when I was staying over at her house," Amanda told him. "It was my favorite."

Then it was when Amanda realized how awkward it was going to be if and when Peggy Carter, Howard Stark and the Steve Rogers of 1943 actually believed their story. And the thing was, Steve of 2013 _was_ Steve of the 40s. Was he immediately going to fall in love with Peggy again?

"We can go now. That tent at ten o'clock," Steve pointed. "I'll go first because I can cover if we get stopped."

"Right."

"You don't sound so sure," Steve said.

"I just…I just don't want this to be some kind of plan from AIM. What if all of this is a big elaborate plan to make us _think_ this is really Germany, but it actually isn't?" Amanda asked. "What if it's all some kind of simulation?"

"AIM is good with its tech, but are they _this_ good?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. What did they even blast us with?"

"It looked like HYDRA technology," Steve told her.

"That makes me feel _so much_ better," Amanda told him. _"So much."_

"Let's assume that we _really_ are in Germany 1943. And that in a few minutes I actually will be talking to myself…" he trailed off.

"Okay…" Amanda said.

"We'll go with it until we find out that we are in imminent danger," Steve told her.

"You don't think the simple fact that we have somehow been transported to Germany 1943 is enough to think we are in danger?" Amanda asked. "Because we may never leave 1943 and the other Steve will never meet me because I'll be old like Aunt Peg in 2013. We'll be stuck here forever. And that can work for you, but would not work for me," Amanda said. "The odds are not in our favor."

"Have a little faith, Amanda," he told her. "It might be the 1940s, but these folks can handle more than you think," Steve finished.

Amanda and Steve had crept up on the camp. Amanda had made sure to holster her guns, and Steve had his shield over his shoulders on his back. She let Steve take the lead so if they got into trouble, he might be able to talk his way out of it. Amanda also didn't want to be the first one in sight in case they thought she was some kind of alien. Steve was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but Amanda definitely didn't feel the same way.

Steve motioned for her to follow him and they both jogged for the tent in question. He'd mentioned that it was Peg's tent and that after his talk with Colonel Philips, the two of them adjourned there.

"We aren't going to interrupt anything, are we Steve?" Amanda whispered before they entered.

"No," he replied hastily.

Steve pulled back the back opening of the tent and both he and Amanda scuttled in as quickly as possible. Two sets of eyes were immediately on them and the other Steve and Peggy had their guns drawn.

"No, no," Steve told them. "Don't shoot. You and I," he pointed to himself and then to the Steve of the 40s. "You and I are the same person."

"Then who, or what, is she?" the other Steve asked as he pointed behind Steve at Amanda.

"I'm Agent Amanda Carter of SHIELD," Amanda told them. "And you, Margaret Carter, are my great aunt Peggy," she said.

Both Steves saw the resemblance between the women, especially since they were roughly the same age right now.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Peggy said in her accented voice.

"Join the club," Amanda muttered.

"This has got to be some kind of trick by the Red Skull," 40s Steve said.

The two of them had lowered their weapons and now both Steves were looking at one another.

"Believe me, it's not a joke or a trick. I'm you and you're me. Do you think we can tell them the story?" he turned to Amanda.

"I don't know if it'll make much of a difference if they're going to shoot us, I think they're going to shoot us," Amanda said. "And we can't change the past, Steve," she finished.

"I know," he said. "If you both would give us a few minutes to explain, you'll see we're telling the truth."

Steve Rogers, the man now of 2013, explained what happened. He explained the whole process of the super-soldier serum, to the events of today, to what would happen before the year was done. He told them of the day he fought the Red Skull and had to put the ship in the water to save the world. Then it was Amanda's turn.

"When they were doing research in the Arctic, they found the crashed HYDRA ship. Cap was frozen alive, and we brought him back. He became priority number one for SHIELD."

"What is SHIELD?" Peggy finally found her voice to ask. Listening to this other Steve talk, she knew him well enough to know he was telling the truth.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. It's a more advanced and more secret version of the SSR," Amanda replied. "We handle what no one else can handle."

"Amanda and I were fighting some AIM agents when…"

"AIM?" the 40s Steve asked.

"Advanced Idea Mechanics," Amanda told them. "They're a little like HYDRA. They're the guys making new technology to take over the world."

Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers looked at the modern version of Steve and the woman claiming she was Peggy's great niece. They sure sounded convincing, but would they ever know if they were telling the truth until it was too late?

"We know it's hard to believe," Amanda told them. "But it would be really great if I could get this cleaned out."

Steve looked down at her. "You said…"

"I know I did. But it would be amazing if I could stitch this up. It's deeper than I thought and it's bleeding again," Amanda told him.

Steve put an arm around her as he saw her getting a bit wobbly.

"Perhaps you should sit down," Peggy told her. She took the other woman's arm and she and the modern Steve helped Amanda down onto the bed.

"What do you need?" Steve asked. "Are you going to be okay for a few minutes until I get them?"

"I'll be okay," she said, looking up into her boyfriend's eyes.

"Maybe I should go get what she needs," 40s Steve looked to the modern Steve. "Someone might notice the different uniform."

Modern Steve looked down at his uniform again. "Some changes had to be made in 2012."

"Maybe we should be focused on the injured party of the group before we continue to discuss the uniforms, men," Peggy told them.

"Thank you" Amanda told her through gritted teeth.

Amanda knew that when they dashed for the tent she had re-opened the wound. And from what she could see of it, she knew it was worse than she had originally thought. At the time, she thought it was just a scratch, but now she could tell that the 'scratch' was a cut and it was probably an inch deep.

Both Steves headed for the door, but Peggy stopped them. "You don't both think you can go, do you?" she asked. "Because two Captain Americas might cause a bit of a problem," she finished.

"If someone could tell me where the medical tent is, I can go by myself," Amanda replied. "I am a doctor; I'll just go take what I need."

"You're a doctor as well?" Peggy asked.

"Yes. I think that's why Nick Fury hired me," Amanda replied. She tried to stand, but the pain was too much. She immediately plopped back onto the bed.

"I'll go," Modern Steve said. "I know where the medical tent is and that way you can quit looking at us with such disbelief."

Modern Steve leaned down and kissed Amanda's temple before taking his shield off. He leaned it against her leg and exited the tent without another word.

"Steve, would you turn around so I can help Amanda change out of her bloody clothes?" Peggy said.

"Oh, of course," he said, turning a fierce shade of red. Amanda recognized it and fought the smile coming to her lips. He had blushed that way the first few times they'd been intimate and it always made her feel special.

40s Steve turned and gave Peggy and her niece privacy.

"I must have something that will fit you."

"You know, my dad had always said how much I look like you when you were my age, and the pictures just didn't do you justice," Amanda told her as she started to remove her boots.

The resemblance was really uncanny. Both women shared the same dark hair and bright blue eyes. Amanda's skin held a slight tan, but that was due to the residual color that she had from the summer; the last little bit was hanging on.

"What year did you come from?" Peggy asked as she rifled through her trunk.

"2013," Amanda replied.

"Oh, I suppose I'm not around anymore, then," Peggy said sadly.

"No, actually, you're about 93, I believe," Amanda said. "But you tell people you're 85."

40s Steve chuckled but sensed the dirty look that Peg was casting him.

"But you're in a coma right now because of some issues," Amanda said vaguely. "But before we ended up here, I had just checked on you and you were responding to my voice. Tony is sparing no expense for your well-being."

"Who is Tony?"

"Tony Stark," Amanda said.

"Stark?" both Peggy and Steve replied together.

"Yes, Howard Stark's son. He's your Godson. And Tony is actually my Godfather. And boy, does he like to remind me of that," Amanda smiled.

Peggy grabbed a pair of trousers that she had tucked away and a loose blouse. Amanda unzipped her suit and tried to be as modest as possible in front of her aunt and current peer. It was then that she realized that she was wearing her favorite bra because she had no intention of ever putting her SHIELD suit on today. Her lingerie would be considered thoroughly scandalous.

Ignoring it the best she could, Amanda shifted her focus to the blouse her aunt had handed to her. "I don't want to ruin this," she said.

"It's all right. You need it more than I do," Peggy told her.

Amanda had changed into the wool trousers and had the blouse open over rhinestone hot pink bra. Her Steve rejoined them a minute later. Modern Steve was not concerned with modesty and was immediately at Amanda's side with the suture kit.

"I hope I got the right thing," he told her as he watched her open the kit that Steve had brought her.

Amanda inspected the kit's contents. "This is perfect, thank you, honey," she said without thinking.

All of them were surprised at what she said, but none of them said anything.

Amanda went to work on putting the stitches in her side and all of the other three proceeded to stare at her.

"Doesn't that hurt?" 40s Steve asked.

"I'm trying to ignore how much it hurts," Amanda said through clenched teeth. "I'm not sure what this unlabeled syringe is."

"Are you sure you don't want something?" modern Steve asked.

"No, no. I'll be fine, Steve…and Steve," Amanda said.

She finished stitching her wound closed and buttoned up the blouse that her Aunt Peggy had loaned her. It was highly likely that she would never get the shirt back.

"We need to speak to Howard Stark. He might be the only person who can help us get back to our time," she told them.

…

So, we're back in time. What do you think? You should let me know!


	8. Chapter 8

A Super-Soldier for the Modern World

Chapter Eight

Peggy Carter had been gone for about ten minutes when she finally returned to her tent. Amanda had been positive that with military personnel to have them hauled off, but she returned alone. She was also grateful for her aunt's return because being in a room with two Captain Americas was almost too trippy to handle.

"I left a message for Howard Stark to join us as soon as possible," she told them.

Amanda nodded and the four of them sat in silence.

"Knock, knock," a man's voice called in a sing-song way from outside the ten. "You know, Margret, I almost didn't come here," he said as he opened the door. "You know, with everything between you and Rogers…" he trailed off as he walked in with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands. He stopped, frozen in his step, as he looked around the tent.

"Get in here, Stark," Peggy hissed. She tugged on his arm and pulled him into the room of the tent. The door fell closed behind him and he stood in the center of the assembled group. Peggy took the wine from his hand before he dropped it or chugged it.

"What the hell is going on here?" Howard asked. "Who are you?" he pointed to the 2013 Steve.

"Captain Steve Rogers," the modern Steve replied. He did not elaborate any further.

Howard turned to the other Steve. "So, who are you?"

40s Steve straightened his posture to match his counterpart. "Captain Steve Rogers."

"Right," Howard nodded. "So, are you Margret Carter, too?" he asked Amanda.

She shook her head. "Sorry, nope."

"Then, who are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Doctor Amanda Carter," she decided. She didn't feel like explaining SHIELD to the man who was a co-founder later on in life.

"Oh," he said. "I don't know if I've ever said this before, but I don't know what's going on here. Now, I'm a genius and everything, but…"

"Sounds so much like Tony," Amanda muttered to no one in particular.

"Someone needs to explain to me what's happening right now," Howard told them all.

"You should sit down, Stark," Peggy told him, motioning to the chair behind him.

"Um, okay…" he said, backing up to it slowly. He was a little afraid of turning his back to the group in the tent.

Once he was seated, Peggy began to speak.

"As you can see, there are two men who are both Captain Rogers," Peggy said.

Stark nodded that yes, he could see both identical men.

"The Captain Rogers on the left is _our_ Captain Rogers," Peggy explained.

"Technically speaking, both of them are your Captain Rogers," Amanda said.

"Does this have something to do with the serum? None of the research that Doctor Erskine and I have done showed any evidence that the DNA could split…"

"No, no," 2013 Steve said to them. "Amanda and I are from a different time. We were somehow sent back in time."

"I'm supposed to believe that you look the same in 70 years?" Howard asked.

"Well, that's partially due to his new DNA that is enhanced with the serum. The cells in his body don't deteriorate like ours do," Amanda said. "And the other part is likely due to the simple, yet undeniable fact that Steve was frozen in a block of ice until last year."

"What?" Howard asked, looking to each of their faces for an answer.

2013 Steve answered him. "It's really not important now. You'll understand some time later. But we think you can get us back to our time."

"I highly doubt that," Stark said. "I am capable of a lot of things, but time travel?" he said. "No, no, no" He said as he stood up from the chair to pace. "I'm not even sure I believe this."

"Listen!" Amanda shouted to get his attention. "Besides your son, you're probably the only other genius I'm ever going to meet in my lifetime. And since both Tony and his Iron Man are back in 2013, I'm going to need _you_ to figure out how to send us back."

"She's related to you, isn't she? It isn't a mere coincidence that she looks like you with the same last name, is it?" he said to Peggy.

"Guilty," Amanda answered. "Peg Carter is my great aunt."

"What were you saying about a son?" Howard asked.

Amanda had had mentally told herself to not say anything about Tony to Howard. Things did not end well for Howard and his wife, Maria. The both of them were assassinated and while no one had been officially charged for it, Amanda knew Tony had some ideas as to who was really behind it.

"Your son, Tony Stark, is a good friend of mine. He's actually my godfather."

"And he's partially responsible for saving New York from being blown up," 2013 Steve said.

"Among other things," Amanda said.

"Apparently I'm your son's godmother," Peggy added.

"So, I don't win out over Rogers over there?"

"I guess not," Peggy shrugged uncomfortably.

"Nope," Amanda added. "But you do meet a very nice lady and marry her," Amanda told him.

"Will you please help us?" 2013 Steve asked, bringing the discussion back around.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin," Howard shook his head. "No, I just don't even know."

Amanda sighed loudly. "She was frustrated. More than anything , she wanted to slap the man in front of her. In fact, slapping him so hard that his son could feel it in 2013 was sounding like a fantastic idea.

"Agent Carter?" a gruff voice called from outside the tent.

Four faces of the five recognized the voice's owner.

"Who is that?" Amanda whispered.

"Colonel Philips," the other four people answered in unison.

"Um, yes, Colonel?" Peggy called, motioning for everyone else to stay silent.

"I am looking for Rogers. Is he…uh…" he paused to awkwardly clear his throat. "Is he in there with you?"

"Yes. Stark and I are in here taking with Agent Carter," 40s Steve said.

"May I come in then?"

Peggy hesitated and looked at Amanda, who shook her head violently. They should definitely not bring Colonel Philips in on this.

"Well, now isn't…" Peggy started.

"It's my camp, I'm coming in," he said as he opened the tent's flap. His eyes went wide when he saw the assembled group in front of him.

"I want an explanation. Now!" he bellowed.

"Colonel Philips…" 40s Steve began.

"It's just something I'm working on. With the blood samples and test that we ran on Rogers, we tried to create a second super-soldier…" Stark told him.

"And you didn't feel like this was information that I needed to know?" Colonel Philips asked.

"I was trying to keep it as quiet as possible. In case it didn't work, you know," Stark told the Colonel. "And it's still just a prototype. He's mechanical," Stark said.

"Mechanical? Like a robot?" Philips asked, looking at the modern Steve Rogers a little more closely.

"Precisely," Stark answered. "He looked exactly like Captain Rogers; thinks and speaks just like Rogers and even exhibits strength like Rogers."

"Can you shoot it? What happens if you shoot it?"

"Well, he'll die, of course," Amanda chimed in, faking an accent to match her aunt's.

"And who are you?"

"My cousin," Peggy told him. "Amanda Carter," she introduced her.

"And what are you doing here? In my camp? Without my consent?" he asked.

"I requested her specifically, Colonel Philips. She's a nurse and she's studying to be a doctor. I thought it would beneficial to have her here. I can keep an eye on her this way. I promised our grandmother, you see," Peggy told him.

Philips was silent for a moment, considering her words.

"Don't keep secrets from me. Do you understand?" he asked them all.

All five of them nodded.

"What did you need me for, sir?" 40s Steve asked once the colonel was silent.

"You will be leading the next campaign. You need to put a group together."

"I have a few ideas already, sir," he told the colonel.

"Stark, why did you put him in that suit? It's distracting and ridiculous," Colonel Philips asked.

"I like it," both Steve's replied together.

"Oh, I don't like that," Philips replied. "I don't like that at all," he said, shaking his head. "I'm going to take an aspirin."

He exited the tent and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"A robot?" both Steves asked together.

"You're going to have to stop that, or I'm going to have to go take an aspirin, too," Stark said.

"Well?" 40s Steve said, waiting for an answer from Stark.

Stark held his hands up. "I didn't know what else to say. I tried to decide if he'd be more receptive to a robot or a time-travel story. I think we'd all be getting locked up if we'd gone with the time travel," he explained. "Can I have some of the wine I brought?" he asked, pointing at the bottle of wine that was forgotten on top of one of Peggy's chests.

"No, you're going to need a clear head," Amanda told him. "Nice work with the cousin story," she said to Peggy.

"Unfortunately, it isn't the first time I've had to tell Philips a lie," Peggy said.

"All right, if I'm not allowed to drink, we should just go get to work," Howard said. "I need to go back to my laboratory," he finished. "Well, _we_ need to go."

"Okay, we'll go out and see if the coast is clear, and you two can wait here," Peggy said.

Amanda and Steve nodded. They were going to have to play along; they had no other choice. They were just lucky that these folks believed them; because it all could have turned out very differently than it was right now.

Peggy, Steve, and Howard left the tent, leaving Amanda and the modern Steve alone.

"How's your hip?" he asked, moving in front of his girlfriend.

"It hurts, but it'll probably be okay," Amanda said. "Well, maybe when we get back to our time and I get it cleaned out properly it'll be okay. How are you doing?" she asked, looking up into his eyes. She couldn't quite gauge what he was thinking, but she definitely wanted to know.

"For a long time after I was unfrozen, all I wanted was to go back in time, be back with these folks, but now, I just want to go back to 2013. This isn't going to do any of us any good."

"I wish I had more faith that we _were_ going to get to go back home," Amanda said.

Steve wrapped his arms around her and held Amanda close. He didn't know how to even begin to comfort her.

"I'm going to do what I can to help Stark," he said.

He leaned down and kissed her, hard. Steve's hands slid down her sides and Amanda's own hands fisted in his hair at the back of his neck. It wasn't going to fix anything, but at least it was a temporary stress-reliever.

"The coast is clear," Peggy said, opening the tent flap. "Oh," she said upon seeing the both of them. Peggy was a slight shade of red, but was thoroughly surprised that Steve didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest.

Amanda and Steve stepped apart from one another, but Steve still held Amanda's hand.

"Let's go," he said.

…

To be continued…

…

What did you think of this chapter? I know it's rough having two Steves, but I hope I did a good enough job of labeling them…

Thanks!


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